Over 1,000 arrested in EU crackdown on organised crimes

The Hague, Sep 25 (IANS) As many as 1,027 people were arrested in a large-scale police operation against drug and human traffickers across Europe this month, the Hague-based European police organisation Europol announced Wednesday.

Law enforcement officers from 34 countries took part in the largest-ever coordinated operation against organised crime in the European Union (EU), Xinhua quoted Europol as saying.

In addition to police officers from the 28 EU member states also agents from Australia, Colombia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and the United States joined the operation named ‘Archimedes’.

The investigators took action at hundreds of locations ranging from airports, harbours and border crossings to criminal hotspots in cities between Sep 15 to Sep 23.

During the actions, 599 kg of cocaine were seized, in addition to 200 kg of heroin and 1.3 tonnes of cannabis. Thirty Romanian children were rescued from the hands of human traffickers.

“Operation Archimedes is a milestone in attempts by the law enforcement community to deliver concerted action against organised crime groups in Europe,” Director of Europol Rob Wainwright said.

“The scale of the operation is unprecedented and the outcome, with over 1,000 arrests made across Europe, a reminder to even the most serious criminal groups that the international law enforcement community is determined to combat their illegal activities,” said Wainwright.